A 100 foot ribbon at the foot of Wolf Creek Pass, one of Colorado's snowiest corners, reached by a short interpretive trail right off US 160.
May and June
Big water window
in a typical year
Snowmelt
What drives it
Fall Creek
Live USGS
Data on this page
gauge 09342500
USFS San Juan
Managed by
their rules govern
Trail status, closures and safety rules belong to each falls' managing agency, named and linked on every page.
The season
What fills Treasure Falls, and when
Fall Creek drains the flank of Wolf Creek Pass, which reliably logs some of Colorado's deepest snowpack, so Treasure Falls fires with the May and June melt and calms through late summer; monsoon storms give it afternoon encores in July and August. Our snowmelt label is editorial; the Forest Service page covers the trail.
Typical best flow: May and June
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What the agency itself says
Treasure Falls Trail (563) is a very popular short, accessible interpretive trail located right off Highway US-160. After a short uphill walk, a spur trail to the left leads to Valley View overlook; go right to continue to falls.
San Juan National Forest (US Forest Service)What a snowmelt year looks like at full send: Palouse Falls in mid April, when the Palouse River is still carrying the melt. The same falls in late August is a ribbon. Timing is most of the visit. “04-15-14-palouse” — Dsdugan — CC0
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Right now
What Fall Creek is doing today
Flow at the gauge now
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USGS median for Oct 15
Not published
Gauge: USGS 09342500 San Juan River at Pagosa Springs CO, on the receiving San Juan River about 16 road miles downstream, a basin-level proxy for the melt. The gauge reads the river, not the brink of the falls, so treat it as the trend line rather than a turnstile.
Source: USGS Water Services (National Water Information System). Instantaneous values and daily statistics services. U.S. Geological Survey data are works of the United States Government and are in the public domain. Gauge verified 2026-08-27.
The other half of the story: the same Palouse Falls in late August. Nothing is wrong; this is what a snowmelt river does every year once the melt is spent. “Palouse Falls 20100829” by Mark Wagner, CC BY-SA 2.5
Getting there
Access, in the agency's words and ours
The Forest Service describes a very popular short interpretive trail off US 160, 16 miles east of Pagosa Springs, with a spur to the Misty Deck at the base and a footbridge view of the falls. Non-motorized use only.
Rocky Mountain melt season (Lower Falls of the Yellowstone, NPS photo). Treasure Falls runs the same brief calendar below Wolf Creek Pass, Colorado's snow magnet. “Afternoon fall light on Lower Falls from Lookout Point (54937071695)” — YellowstoneNPS — Public domain
Common questions
Treasure Falls flow season FAQ
The reliable big-water window is May and June. Fall Creek drains the flank of Wolf Creek Pass, which reliably logs some of Colorado's deepest snowpack, so Treasure Falls fires with the May and June melt and calms through late summer; monsoon storms give it afternoon encores in July and August. Our snowmelt label is editorial; the Forest Service page covers the trail.
This page reads the USGS gauge on Fall Creek (San Juan River at Pagosa Springs CO, on the receiving San Juan River about 16 road miles downstream, a basin-level proxy for the melt) live in your browser, and shows the latest flow next to the median USGS publishes for today's date, so you can see where today sits in the year. The gauge reads the river, not the brink, so treat it as the trend rather than a turnstile.
It shrinks to a modest ribbon by autumn and freezes into a popular ice climb in winter. The treasure-sized version runs in May and June while Wolf Creek Pass sheds its snowpack.
San Juan National Forest (US Forest Service). The Forest Service describes a very popular short interpretive trail off US 160, 16 miles east of Pagosa Springs, with a spur to the Misty Deck at the base and a footbridge view of the falls. Non-motorized use only. Trail status, closures and safety rules are theirs, and their page is linked on this one; nothing here overrides what they publish.
Yosemite Falls in May, running on snowmelt that will be gone by late summer. The National Park Service tells visitors the falls can be dry by August, which is why every falls page here starts from its watershed. “Tourists below Yosemite Falls (39832011431)” by Mike McBey, CC BY 2.0
Three side by side 60 foot falls pouring over a travertine dam on a limestone creek, with walk-in caves behind them; Colorado's most dependable waterfall.
A turquoise travertine lake suspended in Glenwood Canyon, fed by Bridal Veil Falls and guarded by a year round permit system and a famously steep mile.
Colorado Springs' in-town canyon falls in North Cheyenne Canon Park, with a visitor center at its base and a short climb to Silver Cascade Falls above.
Flow windows are typical-year climatology drawn from the driver and the agency language quoted above, not forecasts. Live readings and per-date percentiles are U.S. Geological Survey data, public domain; the above-or-below-typical line is our comparison and is labelled as such. Access, trail and safety information belongs to San Juan National Forest (US Forest Service). National picture: waterfall season across the US → Hero image: “Afternoon fall light on Lower Falls from Lookout Point (54937071695)” — YellowstoneNPS — Public domain
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